MODERATORS

Subverse Rules

All posts containing NSFW content (nudity, violence, or gore) must be tagged as such via the "toggle nsfw" option, and all comments containing NSFW content must be designated as such by having a description of the content or "NSFW" label in the comment.

Violations of this rule will result in a formal warning. Three warnings within a period of seven days will result in a permanent ban.

Voat Rules

Spam (Voat)

Content violates spam guidelines

Illegal (Voat)

Content contains or links to content that is illegal

Dox (Voat)

Content contains personal information that relates to a Voat users real world or online identity

Everyone has seen at least a few of the various gore posts by now, and I would like to address the problem. Up until now, I've left them alone because I think a default subverse like /v/aww should remain free of censorship as much as possible, with the only exceptions including violations of site-wide voat rules about spam, personal information, and illegal content. Troll posts, off-topic content, and a few other things that don't really fit the spirit of the subverse don't have any kind of formal prohibition, so I've allowed them thus far.

For the most part, the system has worked and troll posts have gotten heavily downvoated. The community here has rallied together and started posting and upvoating lots of good quality content to drown it out. Special thanks (in no particular order) to @plankO, @ExpertShitposter, @gabara, @LisaScienceQueen, and numerous others for all you've done to fill this place with aww-worthy stuff. I and many other people here truly appreciate it.

I would still like to formalize some rules for the subverse and discuss what a default subverse should prohibit. I don't want gore in this subverse and don't want anyone subjected to it, but I still don't want to hurt the integrity or spirit of voat by imposing content restrictions. I understand that even the trolls and weird mentally disturbed freaks have the right to use this website, and any restrictions on their freedoms affects my freedoms as well. So what does everyone think about adding rules prohibiting gore, animal abuse, and disturbing content? What else should this subverse formally prohibit? What do you think the moderators here should enforce, and what rules would justify the removal of a post or comment? Should the rules work as mere guidelines for a default subverse, or should they define the kinds of content the moderators can remove? I welcome all thoughts and ideas. Above all, I think the community should have its say and maintain control rather than someone like me dictate the rules as I see fit. I don't have any real claim to this subverse even if I moderate it, it belongs to everyone.

Finally, I would like to extend an offer to anyone interested in helping moderate this subverse. Even if we don't start enforcing any new rules, it would never hurt to have more people available to remove spam and other site-wide rule violations. This subverse hasn't had very much activity for a long time and hasn't really needed any help, but I'd say its recent rise in activity warrants having a larger mod team. Leave a comment making your case if you would like to moderate /v/aww, and provide info about any moderating you've done or any other relevant details. Everything for this process will stay out in the open, no PMs or back-room dealings. @KatHarzso and @HateCumbuckets have offered to help, but the offer extends to everyone of course, and I won't play favorites. I hate you all equally. :)

Edit 12/2: For now, I will tag gore/troll posts as NSFW and apply the appropriate flair. If you see an untagged post, please ping me or reply here. Lots of good arguments for and against enforcing a well-defined set of rules and I will consider all options presented, but I most certainly won't rush to implement anything here. Same goes for adding other moderators.

There's a difference between off-topic posts and something that is completely and knowingly antithetical to the content of the sub. If anything could be posted everywhere, there would be no different subs, just one all encompassing sub. I guess it wouldn't even be called a sub at that point.

In short, if someone posts a picture of, say, a sapling, that might be better suited for v/nature or v/trees, but it's not antithetical to v/aww, so that shouldn't be censored.

Gore and porn, however, should not be permitted. Delete the posts and and ban the users.

If you want to embrace the spirit of transparency, sticky the modlog once a month for people to review.

No this is how reddit was able to silence political posts when Ron Paul was running for president. It's where "It's Happening" meme came from. Ron Paul was making frontpage and people were like omg it's happening, people are waking up. Reddit in an effort to stop this made a "new rule" that content needs to be where it belongs and sent anything about Ron Paul to the gas chambers.

Pics could not be a meme or political, political could not be a meme or a pic. Anything and everything was banned, barred, raped and silenced by the commies.

Agreed. If there were any kind of ostensible purpose to the "rebellious" posts - other than to just disturb the intended content for the sake of it - I'd say let's discuss what the point could possibly be. But he had no point. None at all. The point of categorizing content on this site is to better organize and make access more efficient, i.e. people can get what they want where they want it. Flying in the face of those norms, and doing it with no bigger message in mind, is just creating noise.

Banning a person from an individual sub for this doesn't constitute censorship. This person had their chance to speak and demonstrated they were saying nothing, just poking at the sub with a stick. It's not a free speech issue at all. The user is free to post gore stuff in a gore sub still. And again, if there had been any kind of underlying point to it - perhaps some political response to horseshit moderation or something - it would have been another thing. This wasn't that.

They contribute a lot to v/aww and have helped drown out the gore when it was needed the most. I imagine their attention to this subverse would only enhance the v/aww experience and and help maintain its integrity.

No fuck that. It's a system sub for a reason. Those people flooded the frontpage with content and drowned out other default subs. If anything they need to be de-modded forever. Downvoating the content was great but their brigading the frontpage was not needed and should not be glorified. I never saw one gore post because it was all downvoated. They are breaking rules by brigading. Imagine if the gore community did the same. The frontpage covered in gore. No fuck that.

Imo there should be a clear rule that pics of nude underage people / children is child porn (well, it actually is), and the user will be banned immediately, and reported to the admins, who in turn will inform authorities. This is, in my understanding, a Voat wide rule already, and this is how we handle child porn in v/pizzagate (I'm a mod there).

Then please create a rule that prohibits posting gore. People who come here would like to see cute pics, they shouldn't stumble upon gore. And please also create a rule that gore comprises pics of tortured and dead animals.

So basically, in order to avoid the recent spamming attacks, you'd just need three or four rules:

1) Posting child porn (pics of nude underage girls or boys) is not allowed, the user will get banned immediately, and will be reported to the admins, who will inform US authorities.

2) Hentai pics (child porn anime) is also not allowed, the user will be banned immediately.

the only people who don't understand that gore doesn't belong on aww are autistics who have a problem with authority and no concept of social rules. there's nothing wrong with banning people for posting gore in an aww sub.

Doesn't it stem from people trying to block /v/aww and the option not working? If that issue is fixed I think much of the expired cuties pics would stop. Admittedly, I'm probably not as informed on the issue as others.

We will have ZERO tolerance for moderation that attempts to subjectively enforce rules concerning deletion of submissions (Rules are fine, but they need to be CLEARLY defined and fairly/uniformly enforced).

Meaning make sure your no porn/no gore rule is clearly spelled out and evenly enforced.

There will be ZERO tolerance for any deletion of non-spam/non-dox comments that don't violate US law on ANY sub on Voat. (The one exception would be comments containing NSFW images in subs not marked "adult", some of us have jobs). This applies to "public-owned" or "private-owned". Mods are not discussion police.

Meaning stay out of the comments. (That said, porn and gore ARE considered NSFW, so if a troll decides to put links in the comments they would be required to put an NSFW next to it to warn people "This is not an adult subverse". )

I would also say come up with a clear "strike" system for banning users.

I'm in complete agreement with that set of standards, and based on that the only thing I think this place needs to formalize is the prohibition of untagged NSFW content. It's a universal forum standard, well understood, and objectively enforceable. I'm implementing this now. Thank you very much for the input.

The posting of gore pics in v/aww is not free speech, it's weaponized propaganda deliberately used to disrupt the community. Said people should be banned on sight, and remove the disruptive posts. This is not censorship, it's community policing, and it is perfectly legitimate.

The proof of non censorship is simple, anyone who wants to post off topic posts is free to start their own community within which to do so.

The Reddit example of this is how the censorship started - well, that's how Voat started as well. Site owners can censor if they want to - they can also lose their customers too. That's the civil law, and it remains valid even here.

I've no love for Reddit - they sold out to Jews who now use it to push an SJW agenda. That's their loss. They also ban free speaking subs that go off the narrative - something that has exactly nothing in common with what has happened here.

Policing a sub denies no one their ability to speak freely. It is more proper to view it as one user's freedom ends where another user's freedom begins. The line MUST be drawn somewhere. The borders of that freedom are defined within the sub, as our civilization has always done, even encoded within the law itself. Property rights, etc.

In the case of Reddit, they would deny you the ability to have a forum in the first place. That does not happen here... and it does not apply to banning a deliberately disruptive user either. Their freedom to speak and gather with like minded individuals is fully preserved. They even let those loli fucks skirt the boundaries of what is legal, which, as distasteful as that is, does also prove our commitment to freedom.

Law, order, boundaries, reasonable restrictions on freedom, are in fact the building blocks of greater civilization. They are what keeps us from anarchy. This is why they are attacked by our enemies. The posting of gore here is not about freedom of speech. It is about undermining our social stability. It is an act of war upon us that must be met and defeated without hesitation or mercy.